To produce a car model, usually, the auto manufacturer must go through many stages, starting from a concept design development to making a decision to produce it or not. Well, at the design development stage, manufacturers usually also make several models of the car concept in several sizes ranging from small to 1: 1 for a series of tests and or also used as a promotional model to see the public interest on being worked model.
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1956 Pontiac Club de Mer concept car announced to the world at the GM's Motorama Show. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/3c2pbN1) |
Pontiac Club de Mer may be one example. It was a concept car made by Pontiac for General Motors in 1956 and announced to the world at the Motorama Show at the time. This future concept car creation embodies Harley Earl's design ideas, brought up by the Pontiac design department head at the time, Paul Gillian.
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The Pontiac Club de Mer page from the 1956 Motorama program. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/33nS7uY) |
The concept car's exterior was inspired by contemporary aircraft designs at the time, using a stainless steel monocoque, individual windscreens similar to those on the 1955 Lincoln Futura (later TV's Batmobile), an aerodynamically fashioned fascia that flowed down from the hood skin to cover most of the grill, concealed headlights, and a single rear-deck dorsal fin.
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1956 Pontiac Club de Mer was inspired by contemporary aircraft designs at the time. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/33nS7uY) |
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1956 Pontiac Club de Mer (front) at the 1956 Motorama and the Oldsmobile Golden Rocket is immediately beyond. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2FAKmJO) |
The speedometer was positioned on top, and a smaller gauge on either side, each enclosed in its own pod. The interior was finished in red, while passengers gained entry through conventional doors.
It is known that only one Club de Mer prototype (actually just a rolling model) was ever constructed and unveiled in Miami, Florida, along with another ¼-scale model. But then, the only-one prototype was destroyed as part of an unfortunate kill order by GM in 1958.
The running replica built by Marty Martino based on a 1959 Pontiac chassis and powered by the 1959 Strato Streak engine mated to the Jetaway Hydro-Matic 4-speed transmission. It took three years to complete and sold at auction in 2009 for $110,000. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BARRET-JACKSON | WIKIPEDIA | CARSCOOPS | AMKLASSIEK]
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